Chapter 171
As for her...
Once she returned to WB, she would inevitably have to write a self-criticism of several thousand words—at this point, Lily was no longer planning to sing praises of the neon-lit campus youth.
She remembered the director's reminder before she left:
The area surrounding the East Branch Bureau Soul King Palace is located, is more than ten times more dangerous than the Western Branch...
Regardless of which side of the Three Realms.
"Boom!!" xN
Explosions and shocks comparable to those from high-explosive shells on main battle tanks rang out one after another. If it were Haruto at the Sixth-Class Spiritual Pressure, each shot from these eight Crown Gatling would have been as destructive as his Raikōhō at that time.
Marshall!
A continuous barrage of "Bakudō" and "Hadō" techniques would be enough to pose a threat to Quincy of the Vice-Captain-level; however, Lily certainly wouldn't dream of taking them down with just those.
As the magic ended, Lily immediately summoned her broom dragon, preparing to evacuate Haruto from the scene.
Staying here could result in being taken hostage.
Despite the powerful explosions from the Crown Gatling gun, they were all aimed at the deserted park; Lily had chosen this spot as the battlefield when dealing with the Lizard Void to prevent unnecessary casualties.
Property damage is covered by Dragon Insurance (although it's unclear if the East Branch Bureau covers it), but personal injury is a different story.
However...
Lily didn't see Haruto, who should have been lying on the ground.
She chose a good spot to knock Haruto down; the latter should never have been engulfed by the flames and smoke.
The remaining possibilities--
"Soul Reaper controls Hollows?"
"!!"
The sound, almost right next to her ear, instantly heightened Lily's alertness.
"Shunpo is inherently Hirenkyaku."
The light of the Reishi flowed like a stream beneath the Quincy's feet.
Lily's combo attack was indeed enough to temporarily suppress the Vice-Captain-level, but only if it hit the target.
"You can't even do Shunpo..."
At such close range, the light of the Heilig Pfeil had already surpassed that of the bright moon in the night sky.
"That's even more outrageous."
"Boom!"
The bowstring snapped, the arrow shot.
--
Then it stops at this moment.
"!?"
That's right.
Heilig Pfeil of the Vice-Captain-level.
The Heilig Pfeil was powerful enough to instantly cripple a First-Class Protector.
--Just like that, he was held in mid-air by two fingers.
The unbelievable scene before him left the Quincy with no time to think, so he used his Hirenkyaku Kick to create distance.
"Call out!"
"Who are you...?"
Although he was not a member of the Order of Knights, among his many Quincy colleagues, his abilities were definitely among the best.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have been valued by that admired superior.
But now.
The Heilig Pfeil was held between someone's fingers?
How could Soul Reaper possibly do that! Only the highest-ranking members of the Order of Knights are qualified to accomplish such a feat with the Blut Vene!
"Shunpo is indeed not as fast as Hirenkyaku."
"??"
The demonic "echo" reverberated in his ears. The Quincy instantly drew his bow and turned around, but there was no trace of the enemy.
"But your Hirenkyaku can't even catch up with Shunpo."
The sound was like a curse, rushing into the ears from all directions at once— the Quincy, in despair, frantically pulled back the bow and arrow in his hand... High-density Reishi shot out like a machine gun, but returned to the Reishi less than a meter away from the body.
"This is outrageous."
"Bang!"
Volume 1: Chapter 104, The Old Lady Goes Down the Stairs
The Quincy are stronger than the Hollow Dogs.
But when it comes to defense, Quincy without the Blut Vene is even worse than Soul Reaper, who at least has a Shihakushō to give them some protection.
Then.
Haruto finally got his shot after a long time.
Reiatsu bullet the size of a grain of rice instantly shattered the Quincy into Reishi... just as effortlessly as absorbing Heilig Pfeil with a simplified version of Sklaverei.
At the same time.
To avoid making the scene too gory, Haruto added a bit of heat from the Haien; otherwise, what would be lying on the ground right now would be a headless corpse. This isn't Shinjuku, there are no road signs, latex suits, or motorcycles here, so there's really no need to have extra food at another film set.
"Call!"
Haruto gently blew on the ground, and the whirlwind stirred up by the Tenran swept the crime scene clean.
After tidying all this up.
"Yo!"
Haruto greeted Lily, who was still in a daze, in the same pose he used when reporting to the toilet.
Have you finished dealing with the urgent matter?
"..."
Lily has become unresponsive.
"Moshi Moshi?"
Haruto walked up to Lily, squatted down, and waved his finger in front of her.
"... Haruto, are you Soul Reaper?"
Lily finally responded.
Even though he wasn't wearing Shihakushō or in a spirit form, Lily quickly guessed Haruto's identity.
A wild exorcist stronger than a regular witch?
This kind of thing simply doesn't exist.
"Right."
Haruto glanced at the spot where the Quincy had disappeared, then smiled and nodded.
"I thought you knew... By the way, Ishida -kun is Quincy, so of course he's not on their side."
This is a lie.
However, it's perfect for easing tensions.
Are all the Soul Reapers in the East Branch Bureau monsters?
Lily patted her chest, still shaken, and Haruto very considerately took her outstretched arm—perhaps because of the recent battle, Lily's palms were slightly damp with sweat... very moist.
"No."
"I was dispatched to the World of the Living as a vice-captain, after all."
Haruto dared not reveal that his status was only that of Fourth Seat. It was a minor matter if he frightened Lily, but it would be much worse if his colleagues at the West Branch Bureau misunderstood.
"They're quite skilled at taking down Quincy."
"... Why do I feel like that was just a pure numerical crushing victory?"
Lily vigorously patted the dust off her skirt and casually tore off the top edge of her blood-stained, torn over-the-knee socks.
You've misunderstood.
Haruto took a wet wipe from his bag and handed it to Lily.
"..."
Lily stared at Haruto for several seconds before accepting this simple, World of the Living method.
"Aren't there any cleansing and healing magic?"
WB also has a department responsible for healing: the Incantation Chanting Squad and the Sacred Service Squad both have some experience in this area, but the current Pipers members who came from the Magic Circle Squad are definitely not good at it.
"The Seireitei generally refers to it as the Kidō... Taking back what I said earlier, I'm quite good at taking down all sorts of things."
Haruto glanced with interest at the paint can that Lily had hidden.
"His only weakness is his treatment skills; he's utterly incompetent."
"As for the cleaning methods you require..."
Haruto subtly pressed on the hilt of Seisen's sword.
--Yes, there is, but after a certain morning, his Zanpakuto showed great resistance to the matter of "cleaning".
"Um..."
Haruto scratched the edge of his chin.
Could you demonstrate that Numbered Spells #28 that you used before again?
"..."
"You came along back then?"
Lily wasn't stupid; she quickly grasped the key point of Haruto's words—she had never used Water Strike Wheel against either Hollow Lizards or Quincy.
"Yes, I'm worried something might happen to you."
Haruto answered very seriously.
--Colleague camaraderie and flirting are two different things.
"So all my previous acting was for nothing?"
Lily, on the other hand, didn't seem embarrassed at all. After all, she was the kind of girl who could announce in front of the whole class that she was going to take a dump, so her boldness was extraordinary.
"No, very... you have an interesting soul."
"Eh~"
Haruto's words sent a chill down Lily's spine.
"Being told that by Soul Reaper makes me feel like I'm going to die."
Compared to the self-designations of her colleagues at the East Branch Bureau, Lily still found the term "witch" more intriguing.
As Lily spoke, she took out her horn.
"Demonstrating Water Strike Wheel?"
"You don't actually think you can learn it after watching it only once, do you?"
The gesture of placing the gun to his lips is strikingly similar to that of a cowboy in a certain Western film.